Walled City

December 10, 2014

As you no doubt know, the first wing of the new LFR opened yesterday — three bosses in Highmaul: Kargath, The Butcher, and Brackenspore. I jumped into a queue a couple of hours after the reset, having been encouraged by other DPS in the guild that the wait was surprisingly short, like 5-10 minutes short. They also said the actual raid was a walk in the park, way easier than heroics. They were right on one count, wrong on the other.

I guess I hit the queue at rush hour, as I waited THREE HOURS to get in. Luckily I had other things to do, lots of garrison chores, some trapping, profession leveling, etc. Still, I was just about to pull the plug on what was becoming a ridiculous exercise in patience (not my best thing anyway), when miraculously the queue popped.

We have been working on these same three bosses in guild raid, so I thought I knew what to expect and was dreading facing some of the mechanics with a typical LFR group that would almost certainly include perverted trolls intent on wiping us as well as just clueless players. Wow, was I surprised. Though I hesitate to say it and thereby jinx it, I think Blizz has made this idiot-proof. (I am mindful, however, that idiots are endlessly creative, so who knows.) There are almost no mechanics for any of these bosses, and the few that are still there are the kindergarten versions. And level 640 gear drops at what appears to be a decent rate. The entire run took about 20 minutes.

I know there will be a huge outcry about “dumbing down the game” and giving out “charity gear”, but I think this LFR accomplishes what Blizz said it wanted to do with LFR, namely give players with normal dungeon gear a quick tour of Highmaul. Let them see the physical layout, what the bosses look like, and let them play their specs in a raid environment that is not an exercise in frustration. (Looking at you, Durumu The Best-Forgotten!)

A home run, in my opinion.

Gilligan’s LFR

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale
A tale of LFR,
That started from my garrison
And led me very far.

My guildies said just jump right in
The wait’s a minute or two,
Imagine my surprise to find
A three hour queue!
A three hour queue!

I passed the time as best I could,
Patience is not my suit.
But after all I needed gear —
Just think of all that loot.
Just think of all that loot.

Finally the queue did pop,
I hoped it would be fun.
Imagine my surprise again —
A twenty minute run!
A twenty minute run!

So this is the tale of LFR,
The queue is very long.
But once you’re in, piece of cake!
There’s no more to this song.